Plastic surgeon charged in death of wife who went into cardiac arrest while he worked on her

PENSACOLA, Fla. (AP) — A plastic surgeon in the Florida Panhandle was charged with his wife’s death after she suffered a cardiac arrest and died days after he performed after-hours procedures on her in his clinic last year, authorities said.

Benjamin Brown was arrested Monday on a charge of manslaughter by culpable negligence, which is a second-degree felony. He was released from the Santa Rosa County Jail after posting a $50,000 bond.

His defense attorney said Tuesday that Benjamin Brown intended to plead not guilty. An arraignment was scheduled for next month.

“Dr. Brown intends to plead not guilty and vigorously fight the allegations against him in court,” defense attorney Barry Beroset said in a phone call.

Brown’s wife, Hillary Brown, went into cardiac arrest in November while her husband was performing procedures on her at his clinic in the Pensacola area, according to the Santa Rosa County Sheriff’s Office. She was taken to a hospital and died a week later, the sheriff’s office said.

Last month, the Florida Department of Health filed an administrative complaint before the state Board of Medicine, seeking penalties against Brown up to the revocation or suspension of his license. The complaint involved his wife’s case and other cases.

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Unsupervised by her husband or any other health care practitioner,